For multiple decades now, the Route 66 Sprint Series Presented by MG Tires has served as the premier regional karting championship within the Midwest area. It’s role as a place for club racers to advance and as a series for national level drivers to fine tune their race craft has helped develop some of the top talent coming out of the states surrounding the championship program. The 2026 season marks a new era for the program, which is now under the ownership of industry veteran Tim Koyen.

As a former karting dad, business owner, and championship series manager, Koyen has worn all different types of hats within the sport of karting. Now, the Wisconsin native takes on his new role as series promoter and owner, continuing the path of the Route 66 Sprint Series.

EKN caught up with Koyen with one month left before the series opener on April 24-26 at the New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, Indiana.

eKartingNews.com: Thank you, Tim, for joining us once again as you prepare for the 2026 Route 66 Sprint Series. What have the last six months as a championship series owner been like, preparing for season opener and the rest of the year?

Tim Koyen: Thanks for having me again as a guest.  The last six months have been a mix of dealing with all the loose ends of the 2025 season and trying to set the table for a great 2026 season.  The tracks on our 2026 program are all familiar to me and the series, so there haven’t been any major surprises there, but there are always little tweaks from year to year.  The new shifter classes have been an exciting addition, and a learning experience for me, but things are going smoothly.

EKN: Let’s hit that next. New for the 2026 season at Route 66 Sprint Series is the addition of Shifter Senior and Shifter Master to the class roster. What led to bringing on two new classes for the upcoming year?

The FZ125 is part of the new shifter categories that are new for the Route 66 Sprint Series in 2026

TK: The addition of the new shifter classes was driven by requests from local racers. Some of them were former road racers who had run out of good local options to race, and others were newer shifter enthusiasts who wanted a travel program to take part in. It looks like there is another renaissance in the shifter category in the US right now, and we wanted to be a place where people could get their feet wet and hone their skills. We have support this year from Factory Kart and FZ Shifter for this class, so it should be pretty sweet.

EKN: With the new ownership comes a new series logo for the 2026 season. What other notable changes are coming for the 2026 season?

TK: No major changes, only minor tweaks. The ‘Good Family Fun’ mantra that was our driving spirit remains in place. We want Route 66 to be a place where racers and their families can come together to enjoy the sport that we all love. Too many good race series have, in my opinion, ruined the fun. They’ve started taking themselves too seriously. This isn’t professional racing. This is good fun, for all experience levels. I want to keep it that way. Chris Kardashian got a lot of things right during his ownership, and the fun part is one of them, so its staying.

EKN: The fun meter is expected to be peaked throughout the 2026 season once again at Route 66 Sprint Series. On track, however, there is still a competitive championship across the categories racing in the events this year. What regulations, if there are any, have been made for the upcoming season and any format or on-track changes that will be implemented?

TK: As far as competition rules go, there are only minor changes. One exception is that in the Briggs 206 ranks, all Senior and Junior classes will be limited to MG 7.10 rear width tires. In the past, they had the option for either, which led to an increased need and cost testing multiple sizes. The rest of the changes are technical engine updates for IAME KA and Swift to match the rest of the US market updates, but all minor stuff. We have Al Weisensel as our Tech Director, who shares the same role with USPKS, which really keeps us in the loop on the changing tech side of things. The severity of a couple penalties is changing slightly, but other than that, it’s pretty much the same as 2025. The format is unchanged.

Many teams and series sponsors have signed on for 2026 with entry numbers expected to be big once again for Route 66 Sprint Series opening up at New Castle Motorsports Park (Photo: Nate Dean – EKN)

This isn’t really a format change, but we did a trial run with a video stream of the events in 2025, basically spending money we didn’t have, to see if that stream would significantly impact the event size, and it really didn’t. Afterward, when we polled various customers on the topic of whether the stream was something they needed, they overwhelmingly said ‘no’. In a world where we must choose carefully what we spend our pennies on, we decided that Route 66 would be better off reinvesting in a more prestigious off-season banquet and other ways of giving back to the racers, rather than raising prices so a very small audience could watch races from home. The live stream was very novel when it first came out, but it has become an expectation at the top levels, so they are plenty of opportunities to rockstar-it-up on stream if you need that. We’ll just be over here banging wheels and having a good time with friends.

EKN: A successful championship program is built behind a good staff, competitive racing, strong sponsor support and teams bringing racers to the events. Where is the series with sponsorships for the upcoming season and what teams have you heard from that will be competing at the Route 66 Sprint Series in 2026?

TK: The majority of our sponsors and teams are back for 2026 and, of course, MG Tires is back as the major series sponsor. In terms of sponsors, we have added A-Maxx Racing, Leslie Racing, AEM Karting, Perkins, FZ Engines, and Factory Karts. The couple that we lost were primarily tied to the Whiteland venue, which is no longer part of our program. A-Maxx used to be a big part of the series and I’m excited to have Brandi and Charles and their crew back again with a full tent. Mick Gabriel and AEM have been a regular part of the series but have come on-board as sponsors as they expand their team. BST Racing is the Zirves family’s new team that is targeting budget racers who need a little extra help. Bobby Krug has had a good crowd and this year he is upping his sponsorship to accommodate growth in his program. Leslie Racing is a new team and we’re excited to have them as well. Paul and Cash Perkins have put together a team effort for 2026 and should have a solid crew. FZ Engines and Factory Karts are supporting the shifter programs this year, which is an awesome addition. Of course, we expect the regular Midwest teams like Franklin, Hotz, Tecno Kart USA, and more to be there as well.

EKN: Thank you for your time Tim and we wish the Route 66 Sprint Series the best in 2026.

TK: Thank you EKN.

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